charlie8575

Nice job on this. Charlie Larkin

Arlington was the last B/D-body plant after Ypsilianti was shuttered or converted in late 1993/early 1994. The wagons were all built there and it caused the wagons to be late intro for '94. Regarding fleets, around here, this is what I've seen: Lowell has a whole fleet, plus Tahoes. Went all GM this time. Clinton has two Caprices, plus a Crown Vic and two Explorers. They still have a bunch of unmarked P71s and have no intention of losing them. Boston has a bunch of Caprices, at least 25 or 30. They still run a ton of Vics and started getting Explorers when the PI package was introduced for them. I know they really like the Explorers. Haverhill had 18; 9 of them broke camshafts, and the other 9 had suspension trouble. They got traded on Explorers and Chargers. Lancaster has two, plus a Crown Vic and Expedition. I think the State Police has a few unmarked for prowl units and low-profile highway patrol, but I'm not sure. I know at least one or two other cities/towns have some, but I'm not sure where or who. Charlie Larkin

When my '94 Roadmaster Estate Wagon, which was a bit of a mess when I got it, finally started to become more of a project than I wanted to deal with, I decided to start poking around for a new B-body wagon. Yes, I really like these. Comfortable, not bad on gas, and great on long trips. I found this Florida-originally, woodgrain-delete, towing package '95 with the Limited package and Concert Sound II in New Hampshire for $700. The guy I got it from got it from his tenants in payment for back rent prior to their eviction. Car wasn't going in reverse- turned out to be a broken sun-shell. Unfortunately, the tenants cut out the cats to sell them for meth money. Fortunately, they didn't do any other damage except a couple of small, barely-noticeable dings. Needs the spare tire pocket welded and a couple of other small repairs, but it's a nice-running, solid, good looking car. The cloth interior is suprisingly comfortable too versus the leather I've had in my other three RMWs. Looking for a sedan now to keep her company. The pictures are at the transmission shop (Russell's Automotive, Manchester, N.H.- top-notch service.) Charlie Larkin

Wow. Charlie Larkin

White with red is such a pretty combination. The red top is an interesting custom touch (white, blue, black and silver were the factory offerings,) but I like it. I'd have done it in white/white/red- very striking combination on the real cars I've seen in it. Charlie Larkin

Interesting exercise in creativity. I like it. Charlie Larkin

Not a bad job at all. Nice color. Charlie Larkin

I don't have mine handy, but for some reason, I seem to recall this has a separate front and rear suspension. Shocks are pretty much invisible once it's together. Springs can be made by coiling thin wire around a pen or pencil. 6-8 loops should be about right. Coil it tight, but not so tight that there's no light in-between the windings. Various bits of metal and plastic could help dress up everything. Easy one is the steering cloumn. Square piece of metal aligned with the steering wheel. A steering box could be made with a piece of sprue shaped correctly. Charlie Larkin

Really? I'll start watching my shop end of the month, first half of May. New stuff comes in about that time of the month with STS. Charlie Larkin

Hmmm...this could be very interesting. Charlie Larkin

Welcome. Great place. Charlie Larkin

Flareside with a 302 would be nice. I would think that would represent a very typical truck of the era. Charlie Larkin

That red..... Wow. I love that color. I picked up one that needs help; I think I'm going to do mine in white for something a little different (for me,) but that's a gorgeous build. Charlie Larkin

Amazing. Charlie Larkin

I too, hope someone will make the move and step up or the family will continue the business and allow Don and Carol to enjoy life for a bit. Charlie Larkin

I have to admit, I like the dark red. Reminds me a bit more of the Candyapple Red. When I finally get one of these, it'll be a bone-stock car with corrected ride height and Magnum 500s. Probably some very '70s color like bronze or burnt orange with a saddle interior. Charlie Larkin

The HEI distributor came out very nicely. Charlie Larkin

I think they'd be insane not to do it. Like everyone else, the question is when. Charlie Larkin

Just about...nothing. http://www.pbase.com/johnfburns/image/129000497 http://fineartamerica.com/featured/1948-cadillac-convertible-dave-koontz.html http://www.flickriver.com/photos/cadmanof50s/5854752665/ http://www.carsonline-ads.com/colsite/col?use=UC3_ViewPosting&cmd=showPosting&postingID=49684 This is a radical custom. Charlie Larkin

I agree the 2-in-1 would absolutely have made sense here; this was a bit of a missed opportunity. We've become so focused on versioning that the marketing department sometimes forgets that all those versions were done to expand, not contract sales. Where this one might be a bit limited in sales, I think the 2-in-1 would have taken this to what would be a much better end sales number. With correct tooling, no compromises (or ones that nobody would really care about) would have to be made. Box capacity issues? Not thinkng ahead? A little of each? No matter, I build stockers and I'll be getting one of these; a plain-Jane with blackwalls in Algiers Blue with the blue interior (and I have a real '54 Special nearby I can get pictures of near me) has a certain appeal. Next door to me, the house was (and still is, sort of) a Quonset hut. Norm Wheeler, noted Hudson collector, whose family owned the Hudson dealer for this area, Wheeler's Garage, informed me that one of their regular customers, an older bachelor, lived in that house, and owned a Hornet and loved it. Might be cool to build a simple dio of the Quonset hut with one of these parked in front of it as a sort-of tribute to the man that lived next door prior to the construction of this hosue (1956). Charlie Larkin

Agreed. That said, let's hope it'll spawn a stock version. Assuming, of course, there's still enough stock left to make it work. Charlie Larkin

I really like that garage. Nice job. Charlie Larkin

Pat, this is really coming out fantastic. Great work. Charlie Larkin

Making a vacuum-former is pretty easy. Get a project box from an electrical supplier (or, if you still have a Radio Shack nearby, they can order you one.) Glue everything together with silicone. Don't block the perforated top. Put a shop-vac in the other side of the box and silicone around it to promote a tight seal. Silicone pieces of balsa together and then a piece of thin plastic sheet from the hobby shop onto the wooden frame. Set your oven to as low as it'll go and with the door open, set the plastic on frame onto the top rack. Turn on your vacuum and place the old glass unit on it. When the plastic bows, remove it immediately and place it over the project box and master- work fast. Let vacuum do its magic. Set it aside for about half an hour to cool. If you're not happy, re-heat and try again. Charlie Larkin

Looks great! Charlie Larkin